Grammar Essentials(ISBN - 047061837X)

137Chapter 9: Choosing the Right Words For information on subjects, see Chapter 2. For an explanation of objects, see Chapter 4. Check out these sample sentences: Whoever needs help from Roger is going to wait a long time. (Whoever is the subject.) Who is calling Lulu at this time of night? (Who is the subject.) “I don’t care whom you ask to the prom,” exclaimed Michael. (whom is the direct object of the verb ask.) The trophy is for whomever she designates as the hot-dog eating champion. (whomever is the direct object of the verb designates.) For whom are you bellowing? (whom is the object of the preposition for.) People have led perfectly pleasant (though grammatically incorrect) lives without knowing the stuff in this section. However, the standardized test-makers consider these topics fair game — and big game, judging from the number of ques- tions they ask about who and whom.A Word and a Phrase to Avoid Irregardless of what your friends may say, you should eliminate the following word and phrase from your writing completely. If anyone offers you advice different than that, they’re steering you wrong. (After you read this section, feel free to reread this paragraph and highlight the two errors. Then feel free to write a big red “F” at the top of this chapter so I’m duly chastised.) Irregardless Irregardless is a grammatical no-no. I think irregardless is popu- lar because it’s a long word that feels good when you say it. Those r’s just roll right off the tongue. Sadly, irregardless is not a conjunction. It’s not even a word, according to the rules of formal English. Use regardless (not nearly so much fun to pronounce) or despite the fact that.

138 Grammar Essentials For Dummies Wrong: Irregardless, we are going to eat you, you turkey! Right: Regardless, we are going to eat you, you turkey! Also right: Despite the fact that you are a tough old bird, we are going to eat you, you turkey! Different than How many times have you heard this sentence? Prepositions are different than other parts of speech. Okay, never. But I bet you’ve heard (and maybe used) the expression different than lots of times. I hate to break the bad news, but I must. Different than is never correct. What you want is different from. The explanation behind this truth is fascinating if you love grammar so much that you dream about it at night. In a nutshell, from is a preposition and than isn’t. In this phrase, you need a preposition. I’ll stop right there and spare you the fascinating details. Just know that you shouldn’t ever write “different than” in a situation that requires formal English. Here’s what you want instead: Prepositions are different from other parts of speech.

Chapter 10 Tackling Other TroublemakersIn This Chapter▶ Pluralizing regular and irregular nouns▶ Avoiding preposition problems▶ Negating double negatives In this chapter, I shine the light on a trio of troublemakers so they’ll never trip you up again. First, I show you how to create plural nouns. Regular nouns are easy to pluralize, but some nouns come with their own set of rules. Next, I intro- duce you to prepositions, explain how to use them, and put you on high alert for common problems writers encounter with them. Finally, I wrestle with double negatives so you won’t never put them in your writing no more. (That was a triple negative, in case you were wondering.)Creating Noun Plurals In Chapter 2, I introduce you to nouns, which are the subjects of most sentences. (Pronouns, which I examine in Chapter 3, can also serve as subjects.) Nouns are people, places, things, and ideas, and you can change most of them from singular to plural pretty easily. Garden-variety nouns form plurals by adding the letter s. Check out Table 10-1 for some examples.

140 Grammar Essentials For DummiesTable 10-1 Creating Plurals with Regular NounsSingular Pluralxylophone xylophonesnerd nerdseyebrow eyebrowsSingular nouns that end in s, sh, ch, and x form plurals byadding es. Some examples appear in Table 10-2.Table 10-2 Creating Plurals with Regular Nouns Ending in s, sh, ch, and xSingularkiss PluralGeorge Bush kissesgrinch both George Bushesbox grinches boxesThe -ies and -ys have itIf a noun ends in y and the letter before the y is a vowel (a, e, i, o,or u), just add s to form the plural. For examples, see Table 10-3.Table 10-3 Creating Plurals with Regular Nouns Ending in a Vowel plus ySingularmonkey Pluralturkey monkeysday turkeysboy days boysIf the noun ends in y but the letter before the y is not a vowel,form the plural by changing the y to i and adding es. Forexamples, see Table 10-4.

141Chapter 10: Tackling Other TroublemakersTable 10-4 Creating Plurals with Regular Nouns Ending in a Consonant plus ySingularstory Pluralmystery storiespinky mysteries pinkiesNever change the spelling of a name when you make it plural.The plural of Sammy is Sammys, not Sammies. Ditto withBlackBerrys. (No BlackBerries, please.)Gooses? Childs? Formingirregular pluralsThis topic wouldn’t be any fun without irregulars, now wouldit? Irregulars are a pain and, to be blunt, require memorization.I can’t list every irregular plural in this chapter, but you need toknow that they exist. If your ear tells you that the way you’veformed a plural just isn’t working, consult your dictionary. Table10-5 gives you some common examples of irregular plurals.Table 10-5 Examples of Irregular PluralsSingular Pluralfoot feettooth teethgoose geeseknife knivesleaf leavesmouse miceman menwoman womenchild childrenperson peoplesheep sheepfish fishdeer deer

142 Grammar Essentials For Dummies Making plurals with hyphenated nouns If you intend to insult your in-laws, you may as well do so with the correct plural form. You form the plural of hyphenated nouns by adding s or es to the important word, not to the add- on. These words are all plurals: ✓ Mothers-in-law ✓ Brothers-in-law ✓ Vice-presidents ✓ Secretaries-general You may hear references to “attorney generals.” But keep in mind that an attorney general is a lawyer, not a military offi- cer. Therefore, attorney is the important part of this title, and it’s a noun. The general is a description — a reference to the rank of the attorney. To form a plural, you deal with the noun, not with the descriptive word. Therefore, you have one attor- ney general and two or more attorneys general. Perfecting Prepositions How does the cliché go? Little things mean a lot? Whoever said that was probably talking about prepositions. These guys — some of which are the shortest words in the language — pack a punch in your sentences. Unfortunately, prepositions also attract mistakes. In this section I explain prepositions and show you how to avoid the pitfalls associated with them. Expressing relationships Imagine that you encounter two nouns: elephant and book. How many ways can you connect the two nouns to express different ideas? Here are just a few: the book about the elephant the book by the elephant the book in front of the elephant the book under the elephant

143Chapter 10: Tackling Other TroublemakersThe italicized words relate two nouns to each other. Theserelationship words are called prepositions. A preposition isany word or group of words that relates a noun or a pronounto another word in the sentence.When I was in grammar school, I had to memorize a list ofprepositions. I was so terrified of Sister Saint Vincent, myseventh-grade teacher, that I made the list part of my being.I don’t think memorizing prepositions is worth the time, buta familiarity with them would be nice. Therefore, I offer thislist of some common prepositions:✓ about ✓ except✓ above ✓ for✓ according to ✓ from✓ across ✓ in✓ after ✓ into✓ against ✓ like✓ along ✓ of✓ amid ✓ off✓ among ✓ on✓ around ✓ over✓ at ✓ past✓ before ✓ since✓ behind ✓ through✓ below ✓ toward✓ beside ✓ underneath✓ besides ✓ until✓ between ✓ up✓ beyond ✓ upon✓ by ✓ with✓ concerning ✓ within✓ down ✓ without✓ during

144 Grammar Essentials For Dummies Eyeing the objects of prepositional phrases Prepositions never travel alone; they’re always with one or more objects. A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition and an object. In the examples in the preceding section, the object of each preposition is elephant. The object of a prepo- sition is always a noun or a pronoun, or perhaps one or two of each. (A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun, such as him for Eggworthy.) Here’s an example: In the afternoon, the snow pelted Eggworthy on his little bald head. This sentence has two prepositions: in and on. Afternoon is the object of the preposition in, and head is the object of the prepo- sition on. Why is the object head and not little or bald? You can throw out a few things inside a prepositional phrase — mainly descriptive words. Check out these variations on the phrase of the elephant: of the apologetic elephant of the antagonizingly argumentative elephant When you weed through the descriptions, each phrase is still talking about just one noun: elephant. Only nouns and pronouns are allowed to be objects of the preposition — not adjectives or adverbs (which I discuss in Chapter 6). Identifying the objects of prepositions All objects answer the questions whom? or what? To find the object of a preposition, ask whom? or what? after the preposi- tion. For example, in this sentence you see two prepositional phrases: Marilyn thought that the selection of the elephant for the show was quite unfair.

145Chapter 10: Tackling Other TroublemakersThe first preposition is of. Of what? Of the elephant. Elephant isthe object of the preposition of. The second preposition is for.For what? For the show. Show is the object of the preposition for.Paying attention to prepositionsWhy bother paying attention to prepositions at all? I can thinkof a couple key reasons.When you’re checking subject-verb pairs, you need to identifyand then ignore the prepositional phrases. The prepositionalphrases are distractions. If you don’t ignore them, you mayend up matching the verb to the wrong word. (See Chapter 2for more information on subject-verb agreement.)You may also find it helpful to recognize prepositionalphrases because sometimes when you’re trying to find anadjective or an adverb, the answer is a prepositional phrase.Don’t panic. You haven’t done anything wrong. Simply knowthat a prepositional phrase may do the same job as a single-word adjective or adverb. (See Chapter 6 for more on adjec-tives and adverbs.)A few questions in the SAT Writing and the ACT Englishtortures — sorry, I mean tests — revolve around prepositions.You may encounter a misused preposition (to instead of with,for example) or a situation in which another part of speechgrabs a preposition’s rightful spot (different than instead ofdifferent from, perhaps).Are you talking to I? Matchingprepositions and pronounsA big preposition pitfall is pronouns (see Chapter 3). Only cer-tain pronouns (called object pronouns) can act as objects ofprepositions. If you use the wrong pronoun as the object of apreposition, the grammar cops will be on your case.

146 Grammar Essentials For Dummies The object pronouns are me, you, him, her, it, us, them, whom, and whomever. Take a look at some sentences with a pronoun as the object of a preposition: Among Bill, Harry, and me there is no contest. (Me is one of the objects of the preposition among.) Without them, the bridge will fall out of Cedric’s mouth. (Them is the object of the preposition without. In case you’re wondering, it’s a dental bridge.) Lester added an amendment to the bill concerning us. (Us is the object of the preposition concerning.) One of the most common errors in the use of object pronouns involves the prepositional phrases between you and I and between you and me. Which one is correct? The phrase is between you and me. Between is the preposition. You and me are the objects of the preposition. Me is an object pronoun. I is a subject pronoun, so you can’t use it here. Test your pronoun knowledge. Which sentence is correct? A. According to Elton and she, the elephant’s nose is simply too long. B. According to Elton and her, the elephant’s nose is simply too long. Answer: Sentence B is correct. According to is the preposition. The object of the preposition is Elton and her. Her is an object pronoun. (She is a subject pronoun.) Most of the tough pronoun choices involve a sentence with a preposition that has more than one object (Elton and her, for example). Your ear for grammar will probably tell you the cor- rect pronoun when the sentence has a single pronoun object. You probably wouldn’t say according to she because it sounds funny. If a sentence has a preposition with more than one object, try this tip: Cover one of the objects with your finger and then say the sentence. Does it sound right?

147Chapter 10: Tackling Other Troublemakers A good part of speech to end a sentence with? As I write this paragraph, global warming is increasing, the Pacific Ocean sports a trash pile twice the size of Texas, and reality TV shows are still on the air. In the midst of these truly troubling events, some people still walk around worrying about where to put a preposition. Specifically, they worry about whether ending a sentence with a preposition is acceptable. Let me illustrate the problem: Tell me whom he spoke about. Tell me about whom he spoke. Here’s the verdict: Both sentences are correct for most people and even for most grammarians. However, if you’re writing for someone who loves to tsk-tsk about the decline of proper English, avoid placing a preposition at the end of a sentence.Deleting Double Negatives In some languages, the more negatives the better. In English, two negatives are a no-no. (By the way, no-no is not a double negative; it’s just slang for something that’s prohibited.) Here I explain some of the trickiest forms of double trouble. If you think this is a useless grammar rule, think again. A double-negative mistake can completely wreck your sentence, because in English, two negatives make a positive. The simplest way to correct double-negative errors is to eliminate one of the negatives. For example, instead of saying, “I haven’t never been to California,” say, “I haven’t been to California” or “I’ve never been to California.” Or just go to California, which will eliminate the issue altogether.

148 Grammar Essentials For Dummies One of the most common double negatives doesn’t look like one: can’t help but. Consider an example: Eggworthy can’t help but act in that dramatic style because he was trained by a real ham. The not (inside the word can’t) and the but both express nega- tive ideas. Use one or the other — not both: Eggworthy can’t help acting in that dramatic style because he was trained by a real ham. Another phrase to avoid in formal English is can’t hardly. Can’t is short for cannot, which contains the negative not. Hardly is another negative word. If you combine them, you say the opposite of what you intend — the positive instead of the negative. Here’s an example: According to Lola, Ella can’t hardly wait until her divorce becomes final. What the writer thinks the sentence means: Ella is eager for her divorce to become final. What the sentence actually means: Ella can wait. (The palace is comfy, and Larry isn’t around much.) Right: Ella can hardly wait until her divorce becomes final. Also right: Ella can’t wait until her divorce becomes final.

Chapter 11 Improving Your WritingIn This Chapter▶ Figuring out your audience first▶ Putting your computer’s grammar check in place▶ Beefing up your verbs▶ Creating concise, exciting writing▶ Communicating electronically All the grammar rules in the world mean nothing if no one wants to read what you’ve written. As a writer, you have multiple goals: You need to communicate with a specific audience in a way that’s appropriate, compelling, clear, and concise. This chapter offers tips for doing just that, regardless of whether you’re writing an e-mail, an annual report, or an 80-page thesis.Identifying Your Audience Good grammar is essential, but good is tough to pin down because the language of choice depends on your situation. For instance, imagine that you’re hungry. What do you say? Will you accompany me to the dining room? Do you feel like getting a sandwich? These statements illustrate two types of English: formal English and conversational English. Before you can choose which English to use, you need to know your audience.

150 Grammar Essentials For Dummies Keeping it formal At the pickiest end of the language spectrum, formal English displays the fact that you have an advanced vocabulary, a knowledge of etiquette, and a command of standard rules of English usage. You may use formal English when you have less power, importance, and/or status than the other person in the conversation. Formal English shows that you’ve trot- ted out your best behavior in his or her honor. You may also speak or write in formal English when you have more power, importance, and/or status than the other person. In that case, you want to impress, to create a tone of dignity, or to pro- vide a suitable role model for someone who is still learning. Situations that call for formal English include ✓ Business letters or e-mails (from or between businesses as well as from individuals to businesses) ✓ Communications to teachers ✓ Homework ✓ Important conversations (for example, job interviews, college interviews, parole hearings, congressional inqui- ries, and so on) ✓ Letters or e-mails to government officials ✓ Office memos or e-mails ✓ Reports ✓ Speeches, presentations, and oral reports All the grammar lessons in this book deal with formal English because that’s where the problems are fiercest and the rewards for knowledge are greatest. Knowing when conversational English will work Conversational English doesn’t stray too far from your English class rules, but it does break some. You can relax, but not completely. It’s the tone of most everyday speech, especially

151Chapter 11: Improving Your Writing between equals. Conversational English is — no shock here — usually for conversations, but here are some writing situations when it’s acceptable: ✓ Comments in Internet chat rooms, bulletin boards, and so on ✓ Friendly letters to relatives ✓ Notes, e-mails, instant messages, and texts to friends Conversational English has a breezy sound. You find more contractions (don’t, I’ll, would’ve, and so forth). You may also skip words (Got a minute? Be there soon!), especially if you’re writing in electronic media with a tight space requirement. (For more on electronic communication, see “Writing for Electronic Media” later in this chapter.) In written form, conversational English relaxes the punctuation rules, too. Sentences run together, dashes connect all sorts of things, and half sentences pop up regularly. I’m using conver- sational English to write this book because I’m pretending that I’m chatting with you rather than teaching grammar in a class- room situation.Cutting Ties with Your ComputerGrammar Checker Your best friend may tell you that learning correct grammar in the third millennium is irrelevant because computer grammar checkers make human knowledge obsolete. Your friend is wrong. It’s comforting to think that a little green or red line will tell you when you’ve made an error and that a quick mouse click will show you the path to perfection. Comforting, but unreal. English has a half million words, and you can arrange those words a couple gazillion ways. No program can catch all your mistakes, and most programs identify errors that aren’t actually wrong. Spelling is also a problem. Every time I type verbal, the com- puter squawks. But verbal — a grammar term meaning a word that comes from a verb but doesn’t function as a verb — is a real word. (In fact, I devote a whole section to verbals later

152 Grammar Essentials For Dummies in this chapter.) Nor can the computer tell the difference between homonyms: words that sound alike but have different meanings and spellings. For example, if I type Eye through the bawl at hymn, but it went threw the window pain instead. the computer underlines nothing. However, I was actually trying to say I threw the ball at him, but it went through the window pane instead. The computer knows some grammar and spelling, but you have to know the rest. Giving Your Writing Punch with Great Verbs To engage your reader, you want to create active, energetic writing. The best way to do so is to choose active, energetic verbs. In this section, I show you how. Staying active Verbs can have two voices: active and passive. Take a look at these two examples: “The window was broken yesterday,” reported Eggworthy, carefully hiding his baseball bat under the sofa. “I broke the window yesterday,” reported Eggworthy, regretfully handing his baseball bat to his mother. How do the two versions differ? Grammatically, Eggworthy’s statement in the first sentence focuses on the receiver of the action, the window, which received the action of breaking. The verb is passive because the subject isn’t the person or thing doing the action but instead the person or thing receiving the action. In sentence two, the verb is in active voice because the subject (I) performed the action (broke). When the subject is acting or being, the verb is active.

153Chapter 11: Improving Your WritingHere are some active and passive verb examples: Lulu gives a free-tattoo coupon to Lola. (active) Lola is persuaded by Lulu to get a tattoo. (passive) Roger persuades Lulu to visit the tattoo parlor too. (active) Lulu is tattooed by Lola. (passive)Unless you’re trying to hide something, or unless you trulydon’t know the facts, you should make your writing as specificas possible. Specifics reside in active voice. Compare thesetwo sentences: The president of the Egg-Lovers’ Club was murdered yesterday. Sir Francis Bacon murdered the president of the Egg-Lovers’ Club yesterday.Clearly, the active-verb sentence provides more information:It tells you the murderer’s name. Knowing is usually betterthan not knowing, and active voice — which generally pro-vides more facts — is usually better than passive voice.Active voice is also better than passive because active voicetends to use fewer words to say the same thing. Compare thefollowing sentences: Lulu was failed by the teacher because the grammar book was torn up by Lulu before it was ever opened. (20 words) The teacher failed Lulu because Lulu tore up the grammar book before opening it. (14 words)If you’re writing a letter or an essay, switching from passiveto active voice may save you one-third of your words — andtherefore, one-third of the reader’s energy and patience.Some questions on the SAT and ACT ask you to revise a sen-tence by choosing the best of five possible versions. Fairlyoften, the correct answer changes the passive verb of theoriginal to active voice.

154 Grammar Essentials For Dummies Knowing when “there is” a problem In my writing class, I always ask the students to describe a standard school chair. Inevitably, I read sentences like these: There is a curved seat. There are five slats on the back. Nothing’s wrong with these sentences. They’re grammatically correct, and they’re accurate. But I bet they made you yawn. There is and there are, as well as their cousins — there was, there will be, there has been, and others — are standard (and therefore boring) expressions. How about swapping them for something stronger? Here you go: The seat curves to fit your bottom. Five slats support your back. In a writing sample for the SAT or other standardized test, graders watch for sophisticated usage. They want to see that you can manipulate language. There is/are sentences aren’t very sophisticated, though they can sometimes be useful. When you find yourself constructing a sentence this way, pause. Can you come up with a more interesting verb? Recognizing that your writing “has” issues If they’re overused, forms of to have can also put your reader to sleep faster than a sedative. Sometimes, nothing works better than to have, but too often, has, had, or have ends up in a sentence because the writer is too lazy to think of some- thing more creative. Try changing The chair has a shiny surface. The slats have rounded edges as big as my finger. to

155Chapter 11: Improving Your Writing The chair shone under the fluorescent light. The rounded edges fit my finger perfectly.Okay, I added some information to the second set, but yousee my point. Shone and fit are more interesting than has andhave. Plus, after you plop in a good verb, other ideas follow,and the whole sentence improves.Letting your subjects do morethan “say” and “walk”To say and to walk are fine, upstanding members of the verbcommunity, but they don’t give you much information. Whysay when you can declare, scream, whisper, hint, bellow, assert,remark or do any one of the zillions of alternatives available toyou when you’re describing communication? For movement,consider stroll, saunter, plod, strut, rush, speed, zigzag, and —well, you get the point. Look for verbs that go beyond the basicsand add shades of meaning to your sentence. Here are somebefore-and-after sentence sets to illustrate how more specificverbs pep up your sentences: Before: Heidi said that she was tired of climbing mountains. After: Heidi murmured that she was tired of climbing mountains. (Here Heidi is a bit shy or perhaps fearful.) Another after: Heidi roared that she was tired of climbing mountains. (In this sentence, no one is going to mess with Heidi — not without a struggle!) Before: Heidi’s hiking partner walked away from her. After: Heidi’s hiking partner edged away from her. (The partner knows that Heidi is in one of her moods, and trouble is on the way.) Another after: Heidi’s hiking partner stomped away from her. (Now the partner is angry!)Your word-processing program probably has a built-in thesau-rus: a reference work that lists synonyms for words, includingmost verbs. You can also buy a thesaurus in book form. Ifyou’re looking over your writing and need some spicier verbs,a thesaurus can suggest some alternatives.

156 Grammar Essentials For Dummies But be cautious: Certain verbs may be similar but not exactly the same. For example, the list for stroll includes ramble and promenade. You may ramble (or amble, another verb on this list) without a fixed destination or purpose. If you promenade, you’re probably also in recreational mode, but this time you have an audience. Bottom line: Don’t insert a verb (or any other word) into your sentence unless you’re sure you know what it means. Deleting All That’s Extra I live in Manhattan, an island surrounded by water. My 17-story apartment building is tall. It was built many years ago in 1929. I work as a teacher in a school. I write Dummies books about grammar, which explain grammar to readers. I will also con- sider jumping from the roof of my tall apartment building if I have to write any more boring, repetitive, say-the-same-thing- at-least-twice sentences like these. Okay, I believe I made my point. Sentences stuffed with filler sound silly and condescend to the reader. I mean, really. An island surrounded by water — that’s clever. What surrounds other islands? Bagels? My Dummies books about grammar explain grammar to readers. There’s a shock. I’m sure you thought my grammar books explained tai chi or llama-raising. And after I wrote repetitive, I didn’t have to tack on say-the- same-thing-at-least-twice. One word said it all. Should you care about wordy, repetitive sentences? For sev- eral reasons, you should care very much: ✓ If you say the same thing over and over again, your read- ers or listeners tune you out. Why would they pay close attention? If they miss something, they assume you’ll go over the same ground again. ✓ Repetition wastes time, one of the most valuable com- modities on earth. As one of my Dummies editors once remarked, “Say it and move on. Our readers are busy!” ✓ If you’re writing under pressure — a school assignment or a work project, perhaps — you need fewer minutes to accomplish your task if you don’t repeat yourself.

157Chapter 11: Improving Your Writing ✓ Concise writing sounds strong and confident. Take a look at this sentence: In my opinion, I think that homework should pos- sibly be considered for banning. Compare that clunker with this sentence: Homework should be banned. Do I have to ask which version sounds more forceful? Version 1 fumbles around. Version 2 hits you right on the nose. A frequent flyer on the SAT Writing and the ACT English tests is repetition. The test gnomes want to know that you can pare down your prose to its leanest state without sacrificing meaning.Spicing Up Boring Sentences Which paragraph sounds better? Michael purchased a new spy camera. The camera was smaller than a grain of rice. Michael gave the camera to Lola. Lola is rather forgetful. She is especially forgetful now. Lola is planning a trip to Antarctica. Lola acciden- tally mixed the camera into her rice casserole along with bean sprouts and orange marmalade. The camera baked for 45 minutes. The camera became quite tender. Michael unknowingly ate the camera. Michael purchased a new spy camera that was smaller than a grain of rice. Michael gave the camera to Lola, who is rather forgetful, especially now that she is planning a trip to Antarctica. Accidentally mixed into Lola’s rice cas- serole along with bean sprouts and orange marmalade, the camera baked for 45 minutes. Michael unknowingly ate the camera, which was quite tender. I’m going to take a guess that you said the second paragraph is better. It’s a bit shorter (62 words instead of 69), but length isn’t the issue. The first paragraph is composed of short, choppy sentences. The second one flows. Grammatically, the difference between the two is simple: The second paragraph has more subordinate clauses and verbals than the first.

158 Grammar Essentials For Dummies You don’t need to know how to find or label clauses or ver- bals. However, you should read your writing aloud from time to time to check how it sounds. The old saying “variety is the spice of life” applies to writing. Use this checklist to see whether your writing could use a little hot pepper: ✓ Do all your sentences follow the same basic pattern — subject-verb or subject-verb-complement? ✓ Have you strung a lot of short sentences together with and or a similar joining word? ✓ Are all your sentences more or less the same length? If you answered yes to one or more of the preceding ques- tions, a trip to the spice rack is in order. In this section, with a minimum of grammatical labels, I suggest some ways to add flavor to blah sentences. The clause that refreshes Have you ever seen those diet ads on late-night television? The before picture shows someone who has apparently eaten a rain forest, and the after picture displays a toothpick-thin body. In this section I provide some before-and-after sen- tences. No diets are involved — just a change from boring to interesting. My insertions are subordinate (or dependent) clauses, which are italicized. (Subordinate clauses can’t stand on their own as complete sentences; see Chapter 4.) Boring before version: Max sat on a tuffet. Max did not know that he was sitting on a tuffet. Max had never seen a tuffet before. He was quite comfortable. Then Ms. Muffet came in and caused trouble. Exciting after version: Max, who was sitting on a tuffet, didn’t know what a tuffet was because he had never seen one before. Until Ms. Muffet came in and caused trouble, Max was quite comfortable. Doesn’t the “after” paragraph sound better? It’s three words shorter (32 instead of 35 words), but more important than length is the number of sentences. The before paragraph has five, and the after paragraph has two. Tucking more than one idea into a sentence saves words and makes your writing less choppy.

159Chapter 11: Improving Your WritingVerbally speakingVerbals are verb forms that don’t act as verbs in a sentence.To combine ideas and make your writing more interesting,you can use three types of verbals: ✓ Gerunds: Verbs that end in –ing and act as nouns or as a part of a noun clause. Many of the chapter titles and headings in this book start with gerunds. “Improving Your Writing,” for example, is a noun clause that starts with a gerund. ✓ Infinitives: The word to plus a verb, such as to be, to drive, and to prance. Technically, infinitives are never verbs, even though everyone — yours truly included — tends to refer to them as such. ✓ Participles: These critters are parts of verbs (hence their name) that may have endings such as –ed, –en, or (like a gerund) –ing. Participles describe nouns and pronouns, which means they act like adjectives (see Chapter 6). One quick example: In the sentence Ella is exhausted, the word exhausted is a participle. (It’s a form of the verb exhaust that describes Ella.)Consider a verbal in action. Start with two run-of-the-millsentences: Betsy’s team lost its 450th game in a row. Betsy thought seriously about whether she should bribe the umpire.Nothing’s wrong with these sentences. But how might youapproach the same information differently to spice up yourwriting? Here’s one possibility: Betsy gave bribing the umpire serious consideration when her team lost its 450th game in a row.You may identify the word bribing as a verb, but look at the restof the sentence. Your subject is Betsy, and your verb is gave.Where does that leave bribing? In this sentence, it’s a gerund.Are verbals required elements in your writing? No, but thinkof them as one more color in your crayon box when you’recreating a picture. Here’s a before-and-after example:

160 Grammar Essentials For Dummies Boring before version: Lulu smacked Larry. Larry had stolen the sacred toe hoop from Lulu’s parrot. The sacred toe hoop was discovered 100 years ago. Lulu’s parrot likes to sharpen his beak on it. Exciting after version: Smacking Larry is Lulu’s way of telling Larry that he shouldn’t have stolen the sacred toe hoop from her parrot. Discovered 100 years ago, the toe hoop serves to sharpen the parrot’s beak. Labels for those who care: Smacking Lulu is a gerund; discovered 100 years ago is a participle; to sharpen the parrot’s beak is an infinitive. Writing for Electronic Media You may send dozens (even hundreds) of electronic messages — whether tweets, texts, or e-mails — each day. Why do I bother including a section in this book on media that most people are already so comfortable using? Because most of those most people don’t spend nearly enough time thinking about grammar when writing electronically. In fact, I’d wager that most people don’t even proofread their com- munications before hitting “send” on their computers, cell phones, or whatever. If you’re chatting with your mom or best friend, you can be as lax as you’d like. But if you’re writing an e-mail or text to a boss, teacher, or other authority figure, you need to treat that com- munication just as seriously as one that’s submitted on paper. Scoping your audience Earlier in this chapter, I explain the need to identify your audi- ence before writing anything. You may assume you never need to write in formal English when your means of communication is a BlackBerry, but that’s not true. The medium is irrelevant when determining how formal your writing should be. What matters — as always — is your audience. Consider these guidelines: ✓ Focus on the identity of the person receiving the mes- sage. If he or she is a friend who can practically read your mind, formal English isn’t necessary. Abbreviations and half-sentences are probably fine, and you don’t need to worry about capitalization and punctuation.

161Chapter 11: Improving Your Writing The less friendly the relationship, the more correct your language and grammar should be. If you’re writing to some- one you’ve met only once or twice, don’t chop out letters or words unless you know that the recipient appreciates informality. Stick to the normal rules for capitalization and punctuation unless you’re sure that the message receiver is comfortable with nonstandard English. ✓ Consider your relative power. If you’re the boss, you make the rules. Your subordinates aren’t going to point out that you lowercased a word that should be in caps — not if they want to keep working for you! But if your message is going up the chain of command, choose formal English. Most teachers favor formal English. Follow grammar rules when you write to anyone in the academic world. ✓ Think about the impression you’re trying to make. If you’re writing to a potential client, formal language may show respect and care. On the other hand, if you’ve got an antsy client — the type who wants the work done yesterday, if not sooner — a few dropped words or char- acters may give the impression that you’re speeding along on the client’s behalf, too busy for such niceties as commas and periods.Save abbreviations such as “ttyl” (talk to you later), “lol”(laughing out loud), and “ctn” (can’t talk now) for your “bff”(best friend forever). However, some abbreviations are accept-able in business or academic writing. For example, you maybegin a message with “fyi” (for your information) and ask for areply “asap” (as soon as possible). If the abbreviation appearsin a dictionary, it’s probably okay unless you’re writing in anextremely formal situation.Being clear and conciseNo matter who the recipient is, you have to get your pointacross. The screens and keyboards of smart phones andhand-held devices are as tiny as low-calorie cookies, so send-ing or reading a long letter isn’t comfortable. Plus, dependingon the device and cost structure of your carrier, you may payextra if you’re not concise. Some formats even have a charac-ter limit. The conclusion is obvious: Make your messages asshort as possible to avoid eye and finger fatigue.

162 Grammar Essentials For Dummies Compressing your thoughts into the smallest space doesn’t get you off the hook when it comes to grammar, however. Remember one rule, no matter what you’re writing with, on, or to: Be clear! Your reader has to understand what you mean or your mes- sage is a failure. With that principle in mind, check out the fol- lowing guidelines. Dropping words When every character counts (such as when you’re texting), you may at times break the “complete sentence” rule. (See Chapter 4 for a thorough explanation of what constitutes a complete sentence.) The most common cut is the subject of a sentence. For example, you may type Left meeting early. No progress. to someone who knows that despite having an early dinner date, you attended a session of that learned (and imaginary) society, Grammarians for Punctuation Reform. However, don’t omit a subject unless you’re absolutely sure that no confusion may result. Articles (a, an, the) and conjunctions (words that join, such as and, or, and but) can often be omitted. Just be aware that the resulting message sounds rushed and at times strange. Can you imagine typing, “I went to bar”? Somehow, the makes a big difference. Dropping punctuation and capital letters Some hand-held devices automatically correct your typing by inserting capital letters and a period after you’ve typed two spaces. Others don’t. I realize that capital letters may be a pain to type when you’re on the go, but I’m in favor of that little extra effort. Ditto for periods. Yes, some people text saw helen after the meeting and civilization as we know it hasn’t yet crumbled. But don’t you like this version better? Saw Helen after the meeting.

163Chapter 11: Improving Your WritingOr I saw Helen after the meeting.Okay, maybe you don’t. But some people, including me, do.Why take a chance on offending your reader?Dropping a comma or a period usually isn’t crucial. However,don’t skip anything that adds meaning, such as questionmarks. Take a look at these two text messages: Dinner at 5 Dinner at 5?Obviously, they express two different ideas. The first assumesattendance, and the second is an invitation.Structuring an e-mail messageIn this section, I walk you through the parts of an e-mail,explaining the best format to use when you’re writing tosomeone who expects good grammar.The headingAtop every e-mail is a little box with a heading, which includes asubject line — the title of your e-mail. Most people follow stan-dard capitalization rules for the subject line (see Chapter 8).Whatever you do, be sure to proofread your subject line beforesending the message. You don’t want a message with a messed-up title being replied to, forwarded, and spread to your entireoffice.The greetingThe message often begins with a greeting (in English-teacherterminology, a salutation). These are all acceptable greetings,complete with punctuation: Dear Ms. Snodgrass, or Dear Ms. Snodgrass: (The one with the comma is less formal. Begin the message on the following line.) To whom it may concern: (This one always has a colon and is ultra-formal. Begin the message on the following line.)

164 Grammar Essentials For Dummies Hi, Lola. or Hi, Ms. Snodgrass. (Use these forms for friends and acquaintances. Begin the message right after the period, not on the next line.) Some writers drop the greeting altogether. No problem, unless you happen to be writing to traditionalists, who prefer the time-honored formats. The body When writing your message, follow the grammar rules out- lined in the rest of this book, matching your level of formality to the identity of the person you’re writing to. The closing If you haven’t bothered with a greeting, don’t worry about a closing either, unless you want to “sign” your name at the end of the message. If you like a big send-off, try one of these: Best, (short for “best regards” and good for formal and informal e-mails) Sincerely, (formal) See you soon, (informal) Hope to hear from you, (somewhere between formal and informal) Regards, (formal and a little old-fashioned) You can also close your message simply by typing your name (Lola or Ms. Snodgrass) or your initials (LS for “Lola Snodgrass”). Proofreading before you send Type carefully, and reread what you typed before sending the message. (You may also want to run spell check — just don’t rely on it completely.) Some people easily decode mistyped words as they read, but do you want to risk having your wrods — oops, I mean words — turn into a puzzle? And even if your reader can understand what you’ve written, do you really want to leave him with the impression that he means so little to you that you couldn’t bother typing 17 little words correctly for him?

Chapter 12 Ten Ways to Improve Your Grammar Every DayIn This Chapter▶ Making reading a priority▶ Training your ear to hear proper grammar This book helps you learn grammar, but it’s not the only way to improve your communication skills. Lots of other resources can also help you in your quest for perfect language. In this chapter, I suggest ten ways you can improve your gram- mar just by making small changes to your daily routine.Pick Up a Good Book You probably won’t get far with Biker Babes and Their Turn- ons or You’re a Butthead: The Sequel to Snot-Nose. But good books usually contain good writing, and if you read some, pretty soon your own speech and writing will improve. How do you know whether a particular volume contains good writing? Check the reviews, ask the bookstore clerk, or read the comments on the book’s jacket. Classics are always a good choice, but you may also find modern texts, both fiction and nonfiction, written according to the best grammar rules. The point is to expose your mind to proper English by reading a few pages every day. When you read, you hear the author’s voice, and you become accustomed to proper language. After a while, correct grammar sounds natural to you, and you detect nonstandard English more easily.

166 Grammar Essentials For Dummies If your schedule is so hectic that you can’t find time for even a few pages a day, listen to books on tape when you’re in the car. You’ll still benefit from the exposure to good writing. Read the Newspaper Well, read some newspapers. Years ago I started to “pay” my students one point for each grammar error they found in print. I eventually had to rule out a couple of publications because it was just too easy to gather material. Opt for peri- odicals like The New York Times, The Washington Post, or The Wall Street Journal instead. Read news articles with a gram- marian’s eye, absorbing how the writer expresses an idea. Sample Some Magazines If all the words in the magazines you read are in bubbles above brightly colored drawings, you may not find complete sentences and proper pronoun usage. However, most published writers use at least the fundamentals of good grammar, and you can learn a lot from reading publications aimed at an educated audience. How do you know whether a publication is aimed at an educated audience? Check the articles. If they seem to address issues that you associate with thoughtful readers, you’re okay. Need some suggestions? Check out The Atlantic Monthly, Harper’s, National Geographic, The New Yorker, or Vanity Fair. Reading well-written magazine articles gives you some models of reasonably correct grammar. And, as a side effect, you’ll learn something. Delve into Strunk and White The best book ever written on writing is The Elements of Style (Allyn and Bacon). This book is so tiny that it fits into your shirt pocket. Authors William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White (yes, the fellow who wrote Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little) tackle a few grammar issues and make important points about style. How can such a little book become part of your daily routine? You’ll spend an hour reading it and a lifetime absorbing its lessons. Whenever you write — whether an e-mail or a 30-page report — ask yourself what Strunk and White would do.

167Chapter 12: Ten Ways to Improve Your Grammar Every DaySurf the Web I can’t leave this one out, though the Internet contains as many traps as it does guiding lights. Type grammar in a search engine and press enter. Sit back and prepare yourself for a flood of sites explaining the rules of grammar. Some sites are very good; some are horrible. University- or school-sponsored Web sites are usually a safe bet. Not sure where to start? Check out Grammar Girl at http:// grammar.quickanddirtytips.com or Common Errors in English Usage at www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/index. html.Review Style Manuals What’s a style manual? It’s a publication that contains more grammar rules than any human being needs to know, and when you’re writing a paper or report, it’s your bible. Your teacher, boss, or other authority figure will tell you which style manual to follow. (If she doesn’t, you should ask.) For example, your teacher may ask you to follow MLA style, which means that you use the rules published by the Modern Language Association. Your boss may prefer The Chicago Manual of Style or The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage. Or your workplace may have its own internal manual of style, which trumps all others. Confession time: I don’t expect or even want you to read a style manual every day. Even professional grammarians don’t like style manuals that much. But these resources are great to have on hand whenever you write something substantial because they tell you in detail where to put every punctuation mark ever invented, what to capitalize, how to address an ambassador, and lots of other things that you never really wanted to know.Watch High-Quality TV Shows When I say to watch high-quality TV shows, I’m not talking about programs with audio tracks that are mostly grunts, such as wrestling. I’m referring to shows in which people converse. Programs on the nerd networks are a good bet. You know the shows I mean — the ones whose producers assume that the

168 Grammar Essentials For Dummies audience wants to learn something. The screen has a lot of talk- ing heads (images of commentators, not the rock band) with subtitles explaining why each is an expert. Pay attention to the words. Don’t expect to pick up the finer points of grammar on TV, but you can get some daily practice with the basics. Peruse the News News broadcasts on radio, TV, and the Internet are fine sources of literate (okay, semi-literate on some networks) role models. In just a few minutes each day, you can train your ear for grammar at the same time that you find out about current events. Just think of the advantage when you need a pick-up line. Instead of “Come here often?” or “What’s your sign?” you can mention the West’s diplomatic stance on Iran. (On second thought, maybe you should stick to astrology.) Not sure where to find a good news broadcast? Try tuning into a local radio station that carries National Public Radio programming. Download Podcasts Though the Internet has been blamed for the death of lan- guage by (in my opinion) hysterical, anti-technology types, you can find terrific material online, some of which contains proper English. Download audio or video podcasts on your favorite subjects (tennis, anyone? how about ancient Egyptian poetry?) and pay attention to the language — what people are saying and how they’re saying it. Your ear for good grammar will sharpen over time. Listen to Authorities Listen! Your teacher or boss probably says that word often, and you should (pause to arrange a dutiful expression) always do what your personal Authority Figure says. Apart from all the other reasons, you should listen in order to learn better gram- mar. By speaking properly, he or she is probably giving you English lessons along with descriptions of the Smoot-Whatever Tariff Act, the projected sales figures, and so forth.

IndexSymbols active-verb sentences, 153 addresses, punctuation of, 109& (and), 126 adjectives’ (apostrophes), 38, 95–98, 129: (colons), 115–116 as adverbs, 83, (commas). See commas articles as, 77– and — (dashes), 111–113 definition, 9, 75 describing nouns, 76 long (em dash), 111–112 describing pronouns, 76 short (en dash), 112, 113 how to identify, 78, 81… (ellipses), 48, 53–54 with linking verbs, 76! (exclamation points), 53, 101 as object complements, 50- (hyphens), 113–114 as subject complements, 51. (periods). See periods subordinate clauses as? (question marks), 53, 100–101(“ ”) (quotation marks), in titles, describing, 58 use of comma with, 104–107 102 adverbs; (semicolons), 9, 56, 101 as adjectives, 83 definition, 9, 79•A• describing adjectives, 80 describing other adverbs, 80a lot, 128 how to identify, 80–81a while/awhile, 129 subordinate clauses asa/an, 77abbreviations describing, 58 with unique, 90 acceptability of, 161 affect/effect, 131 capitalization of, 126 agreement, of subjects and verbs, in electronic communications, 161 measurements, 126 23, 27–29, 30 for morning and afternoon, 123 all, 28 states, 126 all right, 128acronyms, 126 all together/altogether, 128ACT test, topics on almost, 83, 85 prepositions, 145 also, 55 repetition, 157 although, 59, 72 subject-verb agreement, 23 altogether/ all together, 128 verb voice, 153 among/between, 9, 132action verbs, 16, 17, 48 an/a, 77active voice, 69–70, 152–153 and, 9, 51, 52, 55, 72 and (&), 126

170 Grammar Essentials For Dummiesand/both, 72 business communicationsantecedents, 38–40 punctuation of, 115any, 28 type of English used in, 150any way/anyway, 129anybody, 30, 41 but, 9, 51, 52, 55, 72anyone, 30, 41 but also/not only, 72anything, 30, 41 but not, 73anyway/any way, 129apostrophes (’), 38, 95–98, 129 •C•appositive influence, 107–108areas (geographical), capitalization “can’t hardly,” as incorrect expression, 148 of, 123articles “can’t help but,” as incorrect expression, 148 as adjectives, 77 in electronic communications, capitalization abbreviations, 123, 126 162 acceptability of dropping, 162as, 59 acronyms, 126as if, 59 after colons (:), 116as well as, 73 areas (geographical), 123asap (as soon as possible), 161 basics, 117–118audience, 12 cities, 122authorities, as tool for learning countries, 122 directions (geographical), grammar, 168 122, 123awhile/ a while, 129 eras, 125 ethnicity, 121–122•B• events, 125 family relationship titles, 120–121bad/badly, 82 geographical areas and features,bad/worse/worst, 88–89 122–123b/c (because), 126 languages, 122because, 59, 60–61, 72, 107 prepositions, 125because of/due to, 133 race, 121–122because/since, 135 regions, 122before, 59 school-related terms, 124being verbs, 14 seasons, 123between/among, 9, 132 the, 125bff (best friend forever), 161 titles. See titlesblock (long) quotations, 116bodies, pronouns that refer to, 30, CDs, titles of, 103 centering, 103 41–42 chapters, titles of, 102books, titles of, 103 The Chicago Manual of Style, 167boring verbs, 154–155 cities, capitalization of, 122both/and, 72 clauses, 27, 57–60brb (be right back), 126

Index 171colons (:), 115–116 as fragments, 51–52comma splices, 45, 53, 54 punctuation of, 111commas (,) in run-on sentences, 9 subordinate, 52, 59 addresses, 109 consequently, 55 adjectives strung together, continual/continuous, 132–133 contractions, 97, 98, 129 104–107 conversational English, 149–151 appositive influence, 107–108 conversations, type of English because, 107 dates, 109 used in, 150, 151 direct-address sentences, coordinate conjunctions, 55–56, 59 countries, capitalization of, 122 108–109 ctn (can’t talk now), 161 introductory words, 110–111 in run-on sentences, 9 •D• in a series, 103–104 which/that, 107 dangling infinitives, 64company names, pronouns, 36–37 dangling participles, 62comparative grammar, 6 dashes (–) and (—), 111–113comparisons dates, punctuation of, 110 of absolute qualities, 90 deity words, 118 incomplete, 91–92 dependent clauses, 158 irregular, 88–89 dependent/subordinate clauses, measuring, 89 parallelism in, 73–74 57–60 regular, 86 descriptive grammar, 6 tricky words, 73 descriptive verb form, 62, 63 word endings, 87–88 descriptive words, 27, 51, 105, 142,complement/compliment, 48complements, 48, 49 144complete sentence rule, dropping dictionary, as tool for learning of, 162 punctuation, 113complete sentences, 10, 45–48 different than/different from, 138compound plural possessives, direct objects (DO), 48, 49 direct-address sentences, 95–96compound subjects, 19 punctuation of, 108–109compound verbs, 17 directions (geographical),compound words, 96computer grammar checkers, capitalization of, 122, 123 do/does, 26 151–152 double negatives, 147–148concise writing, 157, 161–162 due to/because of, 133conjunction pairs, 72conjunctions •E• conjunction pairs, 72 each, 30–31, 42 coordinate, 55–56, 59 each other, 128 either/neither, 31 in electronic communications, 162

172 Grammar Essentials For Dummiesear, as tool for learning grammar, •F• 11, 24, 146 fake subjects, 22education terms, capitalization family relationship titles, of, 124 capitalization of, 120–121effect/affect, 131 farther/further, 133either, 31, 43 faulty construction, 65either/or, 31, 72 first person, 70–71electronic communications for, 55 formal English, 12, 18, 149, 150, 161 abbreviations, 161 fragments, 9, 45, 51 articles, 162 friendly letters, punctuation of, 115 conjunctions, 162 functional grammar, 7 e-mails. See e-mails further/farther, 133 periods (.), 162–163 furthermore, 55 text messaging/texting. See text future perfect tense, 25 future-tense negative statements, messaging/texting tweeting, 160 27The Elements of Style (Strunk and fyi (for your information), 161 White), 166 •G•ellipsis (…), 48, 53–54em dash (—), 111–112 gender/sex pronouns, 37, 43–44e-mails geographical areas and features, fragments in, 51 capitalization of, 122–123 grammar in, 12, 160 gerunds, 159 structure of, 163–164 God (deity words), capitalization type of English used in, 150, 151en dash (–), 112, 113 of, 118endmarks, 53–54 good/better/best, 88–89English good/well, 81–82 conversational, 149 grammar, 6–7 formal, 12, 149 grammar checkers, 151–152 as second language, guidelines •H• for, 24, 36 standard, 12 hand-held devices, grammar rulesequally, 90 for, 161–163eras, capitalization of, 125-er/-est, 86–88 he or she, 44essays, titles of, 102, 103 he/his/him, 44ethnicity, capitalization of, 121–122 helping verbs, 16–17, 22, 26, 32even, 83–84 here, 29events, capitalization of, 125 he/she, 42every, 30–31, 42 his/her, 42, 44every day/everyday, 128 historical grammar, 6everybody, 30, 41everyone, 30, 41everything, 30, 41exclamation points (!), 53, 101

Index 173homework, type of English used lie/lay, 134 in, 150 linking verbs, 14–16, 17, 50, 76 little/less/least, 89homonyms, 152 little/many/much, 89however, 55 lol (laughing out loud), 126, 161hyphenation, 96, 113–114, 142hyphens (-), 113–114 •M••I• magazines, as tool for learning grammar, 166I, 34icons, explained, 3 magazines and magazine articles,if, 59 titles of, 103if/whether, 136I/me, 146 main verbs, 14, 16, 17, 22in order that, 59 manuals of style, 167incomplete sentences, 9, 51 many/more/most, 89independent clauses, 57 masculine universal, 44indirect objects (IO), 48, 49–50 measurements, abbreviationsinfinitives, 18, 64, 159instant messages, 151 for, 126Internet, as tool for learning me/I, 146 memos, office, type of English used grammar, 167, 168introductory words, punctuation in, 150 MLA style, 167 of, 110 more, 87irregardless, as incorrect moreover, 55 more/than, 73 expression, 137–138 most, 28, 87irregular plural possessives, 95 much/more/most, 89irregular plurals, 141it, 34, 39 •N•italics, 103it/its, 36 names, capitalization of, 118its/it’s, 38, 129–130 nearly, 83, 85 negative statements, 26–27•J• negatives, double, 147–148 neither, 31, 43just, 83, 85 neither/nor, 31, 72 The New York Times Manual of•L• Style and Usage, 167languages, capitalization of, 122 news broadcasts, as tool forlay/lie, 134less/least, 87 learning grammar, 168letters, type of English used in, newspaper and newspaper articles, 150–151 titles of, 102, 103 newspapers, as tool for learning grammar, 166

174 Grammar Essentials For Dummiesno one, 30, 41 past-tense negative statements, 26nobody, 30, 41 people, titles of, 119–121none, 29 people/person, 37nor, 51, 52, 55, 72 periods (.)not only/but also, 72notes, to friends, type of English abbreviations, 126 electronic communications, used in, 151nothing, 30, 41 162–163nouns with ellipsis, 54 as fix to comma splices, 56 definition, 8, 139 as fix to run-ons, 53 parallelism with pronouns, 72–73 quotations, 99, 102 plural nouns, 139–142 person, designation of, 70–71 singular, 36, 140–142 phrases, 127–130. See also as subject complements, 51 as subjects, 18 prepositional phrases subordinate clauses as plays, titles of, 103 plural past tense, 25 describing, 57 plural possessives, 95–96numbers, 105, 114 plural present tense, 25 plurals•O• names, 141object complements, 48, 50 nouns, 139–142, 142object pronouns, 145–146 pronouns, 35–36objects subjects, 8, 23–26, 32 verbs, 8, 23–26, 31 direct objects, 48, 49 podcasts, as tool for learning indirect objects, 48, 49–50 subordinate clauses as, 58 grammar, 168one, 30, 41 poems, titles of, 102, 103ones, pronouns that refer to, 30, possession 41–42 nouns that end in s, 97only, 83, 85 plurals, 95–96or, 9, 51, 52 with pronouns, 97oral reports, 55, 72, 150 proper nouns, 96 singles, 94•P• possessive pronouns, 38, 129 prepositional phrases, 27–28, 29,parallel construction, 65parallelism 144, 145 prepositions bulleted lists, 67 equality of nouns and pronouns capitalization of, 125 definition, 143 in, 72–73 as end of sentence, 147 errors, avoiding, 68 list of, 143 presentations, 67 matching with pronouns, 145–146participles, 27, 62, 159 objects of, 144–145passive voice, 69–70, 152–153 role of, 142 present perfect tense, 25 present tense, 25, 26

Index 175presentations, type of English used question marks (?), 53, 100–101 in, 150 quotations. See quotations semicolons (;), 9, 56, 101progressive tense, 25pronoun-antecedent pairs, 34, •Q• 39–40 question marks (?), 53, 100–101pronouns questions antecedents, 34, 38–40, 41 helping verbs in, 32 choosing by ear, 36 subjects in, 22 combining sentences with, 61–62 quotation marks (“ ”), in titles, 102 company names, 36–37 quotations definition, 8, 144 block (long) quotations, 116 list of, 35 capitalization of, 118 matching with prepositions, colons (:), introducing with, 116 commas (,) in, 102 145–146 definition, 98 object pronouns, 145 with exclamation points (!), 101 parallelism with nouns, 72–73 fragments in, 100 plural, 35–36, 41 inside quotations, 101–102 possessive, 37–38 interrupted quotations, 99–100 pronoun-antecedent pairs, 34, periods (.) in, 102 punctuation of, 99 39–40 with question marks (?), 100–101 referring to bodies, ones, things, with semicolons (;), 101 speaker changes in, 102 30, 41–42 with speaker tags, 99 sexist, avoidance of, 37, 43–44 without speaker tags, 100 singular, 30, 35–36, 41, 42 as subject complements, 51 •R• as subjects, 19 subordinate clauses as race, capitalization of, 121–122 radio, as tool for learning describing, 57 troublemaking, 28–29, 31 grammar, 36proofreading, 127, 160, 164 radio shows, titles of, 103publications, titles of, 102, 124–125 raise/rise, 134punctuation reading, as tool for learning acceptability of dropping, grammar, 165–166 162–163 regions, capitalization of, 122 addresses, 109 reports, type of English used apostrophes (’). See apostrophes in, 150 (’) rise/raise, 134 colons (:), 115–116 run-on sentences, 9, 45, 52–53, 54 commas (,). See commas (,) conjunctions, 111 dashes (–) and (—), 111–112, 113 dates, 109 exclamation points (!), 53, 101 hyphens (-), 113–114 importance of, 11

176 Grammar Essentials For Dummies•S• singular pronouns, 30, 35–36, 41, 42 singular subjects, 8, 23–26, 32salutations, 163 singular verbs, 8, 23–26, 30, 31SAT test, topics on sit/set, 135 so, 55 comma splices, 54 so that, 59 dangling participles, 63 some, 29 grammar, 1 some place/someplace, 128 prepositions, 145 some time/sometime(s), 9, 128 repetition, 157 somebody, 30, 41 run-on sentences, 54 someone, 30, 41 subject-verb agreement, 23 something, 30, 41 there is/are sentences, 154 songs, titles of, 102 verb voice, 153 so/that, 92S-AV-DO (sentence pattern), 48 speaker tags, 99S-AV-IO-DO (sentence pattern), 49 speeches, type of English in, 150school-related terms, capitalization standard English, 12 standardized tests, topics on. See of, 124seasons, capitalization of, 123 also ACT test, topics on; SATsecond person, 70–71 test, topics onsemicolons (;), 9, 56, 101 adjectives and adverbs, 83sensory verbs, 15 comma splices, 54sentence fragments, 45, 51 error-recognition, 52sentence patterns, 48, 49 pronoun-antecedent problems, 39sentences run-on sentences, 54, 55 there is/are sentences, 154 capitalization of, 117–118 states, abbreviations for, 126 complete sentences, 10, 45–48 stories, titles of, 102, 103 concise, 157 Strunk, William Jr. (The Elements of incomplete sentences, 9, 51 Style), 166 repetitive, 156–157 style manuals, 167 run-ons, 52–53 subject complements, 48, 50–51 subject-verb pattern, 158 subjects subject-verb-complement compared to descriptions, 64 compound, 19 pattern, 158 definition, 8, 13, 18 subordinate clauses in, 157 fakes, 22 verbals, 157, 159 nouns as, 18set/sit, 135 plural, 8, 23–26, 32sexist pronouns, avoidance of, 37, pronouns as, 19 in questions, 22 43–44 as S in sentence pattern, 48, 49she/her, 44 singular, 8, 23–26, 32since, 59, 72 subject-verb agreement, 23since/because, 135 subordinate clauses as, 58singular nouns, 36, 140–142 understood, 20–21singular past tense, 25singular possessives, 95singular present tense, 25

Index 177subject-verb agreement, 7–8, 23, titles 27–29, 30 CDs, 103 people, 119–121subject-verb order, 21 radio shows, 103subject-verb pairs, 48, 145 songs, 102subject-verb pattern, 158 TV episodes and shows, 102, 103subject-verb-complement Web sites and Web site pages, 102 pattern, 158 written works, 102, 103, 124–125subordinate clauses, 20, 158subordinate conjunctions, 52, 59 to be, 15subordinate/dependent clauses, tools for learning grammar 57–60 authorities, 168suppose/supposed, 135–136 dictionary, 168symbols, in notes, 126 ear, 11, 24, 146 Internet, 167, 168•T• magazines, 166 news broadcasts, 168teachers, communications to, 150 newspapers, 166television podcasts, 168 radio, 36 as tool for learning grammar, 36, reading, 165–166 167–168 ttyl (talk to you later), 161 tweeting, 160 episodes and shows, titles of, two-word descriptions, 102, 103 hyphenation of, 114text messaging/texting two-word phrases, 127–130 abbreviations in, 126 fragments, 51 •U• geared to audience, 160 punctuation of, 162–163 underlining, 103 type of English used in, 12, 151 unique, as absolute quality, 90 until, 59than, 59that, 61 •V•that/which, 107the, capitalization of, 125 verb tenses, 25, 26, 68their, 42 verbals, 157, 159their/his or her, 37 verbstheir/they’re, 38there, 29 action, 16there is, 154 active voice, 69–70, 152–153therefore, 55 to be, 15there/their/they’re, 130 being, 14thesaurus, 155 boring, 154–155they/their, 36 compound, 17things, pronouns for, 30, 41–42 definition, 8, 13, 18third person, 71though, 59time, capitalization of, 123

178 Grammar Essentials For Dummiesverbs (continued) whether/if, 136 to have, 154–155 whether/or, 72 helping, 16–17, 22, 26, 32 which, 61 imposters, 18 which/that, 107 linking, 14–16, 17, 50, 76 while, 59, 60 passive voice, 69–70, 152–153 White, E.B. (The Elements of plural, 8, 23–26, 31 to say, 155 Style), 166 sensory, 15 who, 61, 62 singular, 23–26, 30, 31 whom/who, 136–137 spicy, 155 whom/whomever, 136–137 subject-verb agreement, 23 whose/who’s, 38, 130 subordinate clauses as who/whoever, 136–137 describing, 58 words to walk, 155 acceptability of dropping of, 162voice, verb, 69–70, 152–153 order of, 10, 21 w/out (without), 126•W• writing conciseness of, 157, 161–162w/ (with), 126 goals of, 149we, 34 practice of, 12Web sites, 102, 167,well/better/best, 88–89 •Y•well/good, 81–82when, 59 yet, 55whenever, 59 you, 26where, 59 you all, 26wherever, 59 your/you’re, 9, 38, 130whether, 59 you-understood, 19–20

Business/Accounting Laptops For Dummies, Gardening Hobbies/General Gardening Basics Chess For Dummies,& Bookkeeping 3rd Edition For Dummies 2nd Edition 978-0-470-03749-2 978-0-7645-8404-6Bookkeeping 978-0-470-27759-1 Organic Gardening Drawing For DummiesFor Dummies For Dummies, 978-0-7645-5476-6 2nd Edition978-0-7645-9848-7 Macs For Dummies, 978-0-470-43067-5 Knitting For Dummies, 2nd Edition 10th Edition Green/Sustainable 978-0-470-28747-7 Green BuildingeBay Business 978-0-470-27817-8 & Remodeling Organizing For Dummies For Dummies 978-0-7645-5300-4All-in-One 978-0-4710-17559-0 SuDoku For DummiesFor Dummies, Green Cleaning 978-0-470-01892-7 For Dummies2nd Edition Cooking & Entertaining 978-0-470-39106-8 Home Improvement Energy Efficient Homes978-0-470-38536-4 Cooking Basics Green IT For Dummies For Dummies 978-0-470-38688-0 978-0-470-37602-7 For Dummies, Health Home TheaterJob Interviews 3rd Edition Diabetes For Dummies, For Dummies, 3rd Edition 3rd EditionFor Dummies, 978-0-7645-7206-7 978-0-470-27086-8 978-0-470-41189-63rd Edition Wine For Dummies, Food Allergies Living the Country978-0-470-17748-8 4th Edition For Dummies Lifestyle 978-0-470-09584-3 All-in-One For DummiesResumes For Dummies, 978-0-470-04579-4 978-0-470-43061-3 Living Gluten-Free5th Edition For Dummies Solar Power Your Home 978-0-471-77383-2 For Dummies978-0-470-08037-5 Diet & Nutrition 978-0-470-17569-9Stock Investing Dieting For Dummies,For Dummies, 2nd Edition3rd Edition 978-0-7645-4149-0978-0-470-40114-9 Nutrition For Dummies,Successful Time 4th EditionManagement 978-0-471-79868-2For Dummies Weight Training978-0-470-29034-7 For Dummies, 3rd EditionComputer Hardware 978-0-471-76845-6BlackBerryFor Dummies, Digital Photography3rd Edition Digital Photography978-0-470-45762-7 For Dummies,Computers For Seniors 6th EditionFor Dummies 978-0-470-25074-7978-0-470-24055-7 Photoshop Elements 7iPhone For Dummies, For Dummies2nd Edition 978-0-470-39700-8978-0-470-42342-4Available wherever books are sold. For more information or to order direct: U.S. customers visit www.dummies.comor call 1-877-762-2974.U.K. customers visit www.wileyeurope.com or call (0) 1243 843291. Canadian customers visit www.wiley.ca or call1-800-567-4797.